The IDC Elevator’s Startup Camp provides an easy way for startups to rise the ranks to success; providing initial funding, training, grooming and more.

Startups suffer from a high failure risk. Unfortunately, this very threat of failure often proves to be the reason why many don’t pursue entrepreneurial dreams and instead, stick to mere 9-5 jobs.

If you’re tired of the rut and want to experience the entrepreneurial side of the life, the IDC Elevator is an opportunity worth exploring. Simply put, this unique startup camp allows individuals to achieve personal ambitions and boast their businesses through a monetary heads-up and exposure to funding and worldwide networking.

Raising initial business capital and formalizing an official business structure are considered the most crucial challenges for startups. The IDC Elevator assists in these aspects in its startup camp. The IDC Elevator provides startups with perks up to $140,000 with $20,000 given in cash while the rest is provided through business services, including consulting, accounting, legal support, human resources, public relations, and more. In return, the program takes up to 10% equity in each invested startup.

Based in Israel, the IDC Elevator invests in up to 20 startups each year and conducts two 4-month programs annually. Candidates spend the final month of their training in the United States. To add to the project’s appeal and portfolio, it is mentored by many distinguished and inspiring individuals –most of which are founders/ directors/ partners in the largest investment houses, corporate brands and technology centers present in the world.

The IDC Elevator provides funds and training for exciting tech-companies launching some of the most extraordinary software for web and mobile. Since the IDC Elevator is looking for initial stage startups with a passion and hardworking team; if the founders have an innovative idea that solves real-world problems, the IDC is eager to take it on board, irrespective of what stage their product is at.

So, here’s the bottom line: If life hasn’t given you the chance to live your dream and follow your passion, leap forward and accelerate your business with the IDC Elevator’s Start Camp. Apply now because opportunity doesn’t wait forever (and in this case, as of this writing, it’s only knocking for another 8 days, 19 hours, 55 minutes and a few seconds)! I had the pleasure of visiting the IDC Elevator on a recent trip (I was exploring Technology in Israel). What I can share is: even if you’re an angel investor or a venture capitalist, the IDC Elevator’s global entrepreneurial ecosystem is the place you ought to explore.

Visit their website for further information and also, don’t forget to share your ‘IDC-Elevator- Startup Camp Experience’ with SheBytes!

Well, not exactly, but sort of! Gather a group of hot Facebook inspired computer geeks, add a little computer crash drama in the scene, follow them with a camera and hello Hollywood!

This Bravo Network show, co-produced by Randi Zuckerberg, former marketing director for Facebook, is intended to showcase the glamour life of tech start-up founders. Geek is in!

Does the Zuckerberg last name sounds familiar (it should –Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook)? The new reality TV series is co-produced by Mark Zuckerberg’s sister, Randi.

Does L.A really have to take over the Bay Area? I mean, are these Silicon Valley entrepreneurs as socially exciting as “The Social Network” portrayed: girls, parties, highly exclusive Harvard Social Circles? I guess we’ll find out.

Most non-techies would assume that these computer wizards spend a majority of their time sitting in font of computers writing code. Will this line of entertainment sell? Viewers want drama right? I think most can agree, at least those die hard Housewives of New Jersey fans, that it may take a bit of written creativity to get this show pumping. Then again, who said a tech genius can’t be out of control entertaining and successful (blush)?

Randi Zuckerberg’s mission within this debut is to “make accessable and humanize the increasingly important tech community for the average consumer.” It’s a pretty good idea; considering everything hinges on tech these days.

It seems that everywhere I look, there is a widening disparity between male and female entrepreneurs, most notably in the tech sector.

Whether this difference comes down to what toys we grow up playing with, or just the ways in which men and women approach technology, I am always struck when I see something which exhibits that in fact the gender gap is closing.

I recently read an article, on NYDailyNews titled “Golden Ladies of NYC”, which totally inspired me!

In a few words, the article is basically about how New York City (Go NYC!), has become the center of the world for female headed tech startups, in the sense that many women who want to start their own companies come and do so here, in ‘the City’.

A major component of this is certainly related to the fact that NYC has vibrant and blossoming fashion, advertising and PR opportunities which are typically positions sought out by women. Even more vital to the growth of the NYC female tech startup scene, as Jalak Jobanputra, 39, an investor highlights, is the fact that women “realize they don’t necessarily have to have a technical background. They can build a team to complement their skill set.” On this note, women interested in starting their own businesses have to realize that they themselves don’t need to have a firm grasp on the actual technical side of the business.

What I’d like to see, are bold females who have brilliant ideas and a knack for management coming to NYC to launch their startups. They will then be in a city full of skilled and capable individuals who could become part of their team, while they themselves will focus on startup investors and managing the company from the helm.

The reason I used the Birchbox logo, as the main photo for this article, is intrinsically intertwined with this last point. For those of you who don’t know Birchbox, it’s well worth giving it a try. Like Rent the Runway, Birchbox is a female headed tech startup dedicated to delivering a high quality product right to your door.

Birchbox’s clever business model is simple: Deliver handpicked, high quality beauty products right to customers’ doors for a set monthly fee. But more for the purposes of this piece, Birchbox is a paradigm of the NYC female headed tech startup scene in that the women in charge were not techie’s, but were able to bring their brilliant concept to a willing and able tech team to launch and get it well off the ground.

Something really different about the relationship between NYC and female entrepreneurs, which makes me proud to be an active part of it is the growing number of resources available for women looking to get in.

As opposed to barriers to entry, in many other markets, here there are organizations like “Golden Seeds, one of a number of investor networks rooted in the city that is dedicated to funding start-ups led by women”, not to mention “Women Innovate Mobile, billed as the nation’s first accelerator program focused specifically on women-founded firms.”

I am extremely excited about all of the females in town and hope to hear from many more soon. Keep up the good work ladies!

The Daily Muse is our favorite new startup; a a female oriented networking site, like nothing that has come before.

Its self-proclaimed mission (as per the “About” page), is to “bring community and career opportunities to professional women” and judging by what I’ve seen so far, they’re well on their way to doing just that.

That’s saying a lot considering the company and website have only been live for a couple of weeks!

Additionally, what I love about the Daily Muse website as a whole (besides that it is female operated for a female audience, just like SheBytes), is its lucid layout and clever style.

Check out the creative and cute design used on the classic social media icons on their “About” page!

According to Business Insider, Daily Muse’s cofounder Kathryn Minshew tweeted the news that her brand new startup Daily Muse will be headed to Y Combinator!

Y Combinator is a prestigious startup boot camp that helps nascent innovators make the trek through inception, thought development and funding. We hope that Daily Muse’s vivid vision will yield to ultimate success.

My own company, Madison Technology, is an NYC based Cloud Computing company which offers Managed Hosting and Full Lifecycle IT Solutions.

Even more astounding, is the next similarity I found between Vacanti and myself:

Both of us quit jobs in finance in order to launch our tech startups!

Because of these similarities, I realized the importance of writing about Yipit (@yipit), Vacanti’s tech company on SheBytes, specifically focusing on how Yipit came to be.

Yipit offers the “best of the daily deals to our users based on the preferences they have expressed to us.” And is centered around a learning software which will ensure that you aren’t barraged with irrelevant coupons and deals, but will rather act as a thoughtful mother who is consistently browsing the papers and cutting out only those coupons you’d actually like to use.

Well anyway, one of the amazing things about Yipit’s CEO and Co-Founder Vacanti is that he was making a huge salary in his finance position and was just settling into it only a few years out of college. The only problem was that he became aware that being comfortable in his current job was not a good place to be.

He realized “the only way to know how good you might be at something is to fail trying it.”

This simple idea began to make him think about his work-life. He noticed that he had never really failed at what he did and therefore became comfortable to do what seemed easy…for Vacanti that was finance.

Because he knew he would be unable to continue working in finance if he never took the risk and gave the tech sector a try he decided to quit (that must’ve been tough), and begin Yipit!

Did he succeed right off the bat?

Well at first…NO! (Disclaimer: I CAN RELATE!)

“I got knocked down many, many times. For the first 2 years, I had no idea what I was doing…”

But eventually Vacanti launched Yipit and its currently growing rapidly.